Ghaziabad: Two kids among three injured after man ‘in a helmet’ sprays them with acid

Sanjay, the children’s father, said he had a tough time trying to get an FIR registered in the matter. He alleged that when he went to the Link Road police station with his complaint, the personnel there asked him to go to the local police post.

Doctors said the three patients had superficial burns on their face and neck, the kind that is caused by a corrosive liquid.(Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

Three persons, including two children aged 13 and 15 years, were sprayed with acid by an unidentified man in Sahibabad Site 4 Industrial Area on Monday afternoon.

According to the family, their 13-year-old daughter, 15-year-old son and their 24-year-old son-in-law Lakhan Singh suffered acid burns on their faces after the man used a toy pistol, akin to a ‘pichkari’ used during Holi festival, to spray them.

The family stays in Jhandapur in Sahibabad.

“I was returning as usual with the two kids from school. When we took the turn towards our home, an unidentified man, wearing a helmet, was standing on the roadside. He suddenly pulled out a toy pistol and sprayed some liquid on our faces,” Singh said.

He and children’s father Sanjay Singh operate a garment export workshop in the industrial area.

“I slowed down the bike as the girl shouted at the man and asked him what he was trying to do. Within seconds, our faces began to heat up and it started itching violently. I sped the bike to a nearby temple where we washed our faces for nearly 15 minutes before we reached home and rushed to a hospital for treatment,” Singh said.

“The three patients had superficial burns on their face and neck. It was some corrosive liquid that was sprayed on them. It could be a chemical or some acid which was not concentrated,” Dr PK Singha, surgeon of the Vasundhara hospital, said.

Anita Singh, children’s mother, said, “The children’s school uniform had several burn marks where the liquid fell. It was some acid and all three suffered burns on the left side of their faces.”

The girl said the man who attacked them had a helmet on and was wearing a shirt and pair of jeans.

“We don’t know where he escaped to as we were desperately searching for water. We rushed to the temple and poured a lot of water on ourselves,” the girl said.

Singh said that nearly 20 days ago, he was involved in a road rage incident in site 4. Three men on a motorcycle bike had fallen off after their bike hit a bundle of raw material that had fallen from Singh’s motorcycle.

“Their bike hit the bundle and they lost their balance and fell. Later, one of them asked the other to get a blade and injure me with it. An escalation was averted by locals who intervened. I cannot say for sure whether they were behind the acid attack or not,” he said.

Sanjay, the children’s father, said he had a tough time trying to get an FIR registered in the matter. He alleged that when he went to the Link Road police station with his complaint, the personnel there asked him to go to the local police post.

“The police post officials took our complaint but an FIR has not been lodged as yet. I don’t know why,” Sanjay said on Tuesday afternoon.

Akash Tomar, superintendent of police (city), did not respond to phone calls or messages.

“The complaint has come to my knowledge and we are in the process of lodging the FIR under relevant IPC sections. The matter will be investigated,” Prashant Mishra, station house officer, Link Road police station, said.